There are also a bunch of tools and guidance available to help you at each stage of the competition.

You have only approximately 46 hours to get your entry completed. Here is a guide as to how you might want to allocate your time. This is only a guide, and you can do whatever you want to create and submit your entry.

Friday

At 7pm on the Friday night the competition categories are launched and your team can start creating. The first night is all about working together in your team to create an idea.

Find a spot to set up and make your own for the weekend.

Talk to mentors before they head home! They know the data and will have great ideas to get your started.

Head to Hackerspace and register as a user (all team members must register). One person from the team creates a team page. This will unlock all the award categories you can enter at your location including International, National, State and Local awards.

Spend some time reviewing:

awards to identify some common themes of award categories

the Official Data list which includes featured data from sponsors and open government data portals

Identify the focus of your investigation and project

Check if these award challenges have data requirements.

Assign roles within your team – working with each other strengths.

Deconstruct the award challenge

Think outside the box – entries can be anything a game, an art installation, a visual display, a story, a gadget,a board game, analytical models, a data vis and of course some great apps. Is there new technology you want to try or perhaps there is a tool or insight you think will help government.

Judges reward originality and ideas that make data accessible to understand.

design thinking

What pain points could you resolve

What other data could be relevant to the pain points or users?

Mind map your ideas

Check the Judging criteria

Rule out data that needs too much work or start engaging mentors for help

Create an evidence repository and add this URL to you Hackerspace project page. Start adding content even if it just photos of your workings for now (what is an evidence repository? Github for the techies and Google folder or similar that you can share via a URL for non-techies).

Record URLs of datasets you use for submitting on your project page.

Ask for help 🙂 There are mentors, coaches, crew and other Hackers who can help.

Saturday

Deadlines

12 noon – first challenge lock in – can lock in up to 2 national and 2 state/territory challenges

5 pm – second challenge lock in – can lock in a further 1 national and 1 state/territory challenge

Aim to lock down your concept by 10am Saturday.

Mentors and coaches are available on site and via Slack.

Review your team plans and assign tasks.

It’s ok if you don’t have an idea yet – mentors will have loads of ideas and problems they want solved.

Ask your GovHack crew to help connect with mentors for ideas if you need.

Consolidate your many ideas into one or two good ones

Data data data – how will you use it, mash it, interpret it, present it?- remember to record URLs of data in your Hackerspace project page as you go.

Start a storyboard of how you will communicate your ideas

What could you create/prototype/design/model that is achievable and will help people understand the concept?

Take some photos of your team or media that will help in your Video entry

Keep building

Run your storyboard past some GovHack crew.

Sunday

Deadlines

12 noon – third challenge lock in – can lock in a further 1 national and 1 state/territory challenge

5 pm – second challenge lock in – can lock in a further 1 national and 1 state/territory challenge. Everything must be complete on your project page by this time.

Last year’s competitors will all tell you the same… “it took me all arvo to create my Vid and then we had loading problems… Aggghh Panic!” On average it takes about an hour to load videos on YouTube and new technology when you’re stressed takes twice as long as you want… so factor these elements into your days plans.

Set tasks and activities for the day

Research tools you will need for the day – check the Handbook

Finalise your storyboard script. What material will feature in your video? People? Places? Prototypes? Data? – what are the key points or features you want judges to understand?

Build, prototype or mock up items that will feature in the vid to demonstrate your concept.

How will you feature the data?

Update your project page with your data story and datasets

Script for your video

Arrange for a quiet space to record any audio – aim for midday

Craft and edit your 3 minute pitch video

Apply audio

By 2pm you should be in editing mode for your video

Get your team page completed to meet all entry criteria

Aim to start loading your vid to YouTube (or similar) by no later than 4pm

YouTube gives you a URL link as soon as you start loading your vid – so make sure you grab this and enter it on your project page

Finish and submit entry by 5pm.

In order to get some sleep and quality coding time, you may want to consider organising your team into shifts, so that while some are working, others can go home and rest, and then take over to allow the previous shift to get some rest.

Don’t forget to look after yourself: take breaks, eat, drink and go for an occasional walk. Allow some time to get away and freshen up. Showers clear the mind!

Top Tips

Check the Eligibility criteria on each award category – some award require you to use data from a specific data portal or dataset.